With the Putnam Voyager Fund up 65.6% in 2009, ranking in the top 2% of large-cap growth funds, The Boston Globe has named manager Nick Thakore Boston Capital Fund Manager of the Year. The fund has handily outpaced its benchmark Russell 1000 Growth Index, up 39.3%, by more than 26 percentage points.
Thakore is the first Putnam portfolio manager to earn the distinction, joining the ranks of colleagues from
Thakore, who joined Putnam in late 2008, was one of President Robert L. Reynolds’ hires. He attributed 90% of his gains to individual stocks, calling the environment for stock picking “one of the best I ever saw. It was very much broad-based stock picking. I feel like I got the performance in a prudent way.”
Thakore said he had faith in the recovery of the market due to the government stimulus plan, and he believes the stock market will also return steady gains in 2010. “I think there’s still a lot of potential fuel,” he said.
